One in five Arizonans live below the federal poverty line and record numbers of Valley residents continue to turn to local food banks for assistance. And that means a lot of kids go to school hungry.
Starting school days on empty stomachs can make students more easily distracted and fare worse in class than counterparts who eat breakfast. That conclusion is based on research — but it’s also just common sense. Any working adult can attest to the same fact – we all do better with food in our stomachs. Kids who eat breakfast on a regular basis perform better academically, have increased attendance and make fewer trips to the school nurse’s office, research says.
In fact, students who eat breakfast each day, on average, score more than 17 percent higher on math tests and are 20 percent more likely to graduate than students who don’t eat breakfast at all. Here in Maricopa County, approximately 82,000 households struggle to put food on the table for themselves or their families, and 45% of them are households with children.
The current need is so great that it threatens to overwhelm the Valley’s network of resources and support services. Approximately 82,000 households in Maricopa County struggle to put food on the table for themselves or their families, and 45% of them are households with children.
That’s why Valley of the Sun United Way is on a mission to provide alternative breakfast options like Breakfast in the Classroom to 130 schools and over 74,100 children in need through Maricopa County. This is part of their effort to End Hunger in the Classroom by working with schools to provide food to children and reduce chronic household hunger.
“Already, Valley of the Sun United Way has provided 19 schools and more than 12,000 students the tools needed for Breakfast in the Classroom,” said Jayson Matthews, Director of Ending Hunger at Valley of the Sun United Way. “We would need $444,000 to fund the remaining 111 schools, so a one-time investment of $4,000 is needed to fund each school.
“One of the great things about this program is that the one-time funds are used for capital expenses and technical assistance to launch Breakfast in the Classroom,” he said. “Once a school has the infrastructure in place, federal funds help provide ongoing support to these schools where hunger and poverty is prevalent.”
Here’s how Breakfast in the Classroom works:
• It’s breakfast, in the classroom – which means that students get a healthy breakfast in a safe environment with a caring adult every day of the school year
• Cafeteria employees load hot/cold bags for each classroom before the first bell rings
• Foods served are an entrée (such as cereal, mini-waffles, French toast sticks or an oatmeal bar), a fruit or juice and milk
• Bags are dropped off via carts to each room
• School bell rings and kids return from playground to classroom
• Teachers typically instruct students to pas out food or form a line
• During a 15-minute window used for homeroom, announcements and prep time, students eat the food at desks or a table
• Students clean up after themselves and class starts
Breakfast, as the old adage goes, is the most important meal of the day. Children who eat school breakfast are more likely to, according to research, reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math, concentrate better, be more alert, retain more of what they learn and participate in class.
“We know that if our kids get a healthy breakfast, they’re more apt to learn, they’re more apt to pay attention, they’re more apt to retain the information and that’s going to pay off in the long run,” said Karen Peterson, principal of Griffith Elementary School in the Balsz Elementary School District. “Our student population struggles with finding nutritional breakfast and lunch; sometimes the meals we serve here are the only nutritional meals that the students receive. So my first instinct was if it’s good for kids, then we’re on board.”
“When we began breakfast in the classroom, I initially said, ‘No way’. I feared trash, damaged carpet, a waste of time,” said Pamela Johnson, teacher, Hartford Elementary School Chandler Unified School District. “That hypothesis was wrong. After doing this for the length of time that I’ve done it, 3 years, it’s routine, consistency, it’s awesome. It can be done in a very short period of time.”
Alternative breakfast programs like Breakfast in the Classroom also addresses a factor holding back participation in other before school breakfast programs. Many students who are eligible for free or reduced-price school breakfast do not participate because of the stigma that only poor students go to the cafeteria for breakfast before school. By offering breakfast to all students, some of the stigma of eating school breakfast is eliminated. Research shows that a Breakfast in the Classroom model is the single best way to increase participation and achieve the widespread gains in academic success linked to school breakfast consumption.
To learn more about the program, go to: http://www.vsuw.org/community-objectives/end-hunger/breakfast-in-the-classroom/
